Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has voiced his dissatisfaction with the new approach to injury time in football matches.
In a post-match interview after the Community Shield showpiece at Wembley, De Bruyne expressed his belief that the new rules “don’t make any sense” as he echoed a sentiment shared by Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp. The Premier League, English Football League, FA, and other stakeholders in the sport collaborated to implement significant changes in how matches are officiated.
However, the first major trial of these new stipulations resulted in Manchester City conceding a last-minute equalizer to Arsenal and ultimately losing on penalties. Referee Stuart Attwell initially added eight minutes of injury time to the game, but due to additional stoppages, the match was extended by more than 10 minutes.
This allowed Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard to score an equalizer in the 101st minute. De Bruyne’s frustration stemmed from the potential implications of such lengthy injury time periods, especially when facing teams that engage in time-wasting tactics.
We spoke to the Arsenal players and even the referees [about it] — they don’t even want to do it, but it’s the new rule and it’s what it is,” De Bruyne told PA (via the Liverpool ECHO). “A game like today, even the first half with three minutes extra, you can only guess what’s going to happen if you play a lower team who keeps time-wasting all the time.”
The concept of accounting for every second lost during stoppages is not new, as it was previously implemented during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The average match length during the tournament reached 102 minutes as referees were instructed to ensure that no time was overlooked.
English football adopted this rule with the intention of addressing the statistic that stated the ball was only in play for an average of 55 minutes per match last season.
De Bruyne, however, emphasized the importance of player protection and expressed concerns about the potential consequences of extended injury time periods. The Belgium international added: “Today we played 12 to 13 minutes. I can see games going for 20-25 minutes [extra]. I think this will change in one to two months, but this is the first game.
“I’m thinking if we play Sevilla in Olympiakos [in the Uefa Super Cup] on Wednesday [16 August] and have 15-20 extra minutes and then play on Saturday again [against Newcastle] it’s like two times extra time. We’ll see how it goes, but it doesn’t make any sense.”
De Bruyne’s criticism of the new injury time rule aligns with Manchester United defender Raphaël Varane, who also voiced his concerns on social media this week. Additionally, Klopp spoke out last season against the demanding schedule that players faced, transitioning from club action to international tournaments and back to domestic competitions in quick succession.
The Reds manager said: “Usually, after every tournament you have a long break. This time you play again one week [later]. Madness.
“UEFA and FIFA have to be careful with what they both really want. If you have tired players in tournaments, you don’t have high quality. We have to give the players rest so they can be the players they are able to be. And the Premier League has to think as well. One week, you become world champion, for example — England, hopefully.
“And then, one week later on Boxing Day, everybody expects you to be ready again. That never happened before in the history of football.”
